High Hopes
by mdelpin
Summary: After traveling aimlessly for several months Sting and Rogue happen upon an old issue of Sorcerer Weekly. Fascinated by the world it describes they use the magazine as a guide, determined to find other dragon slayers and maybe a place to call home. Shadowlight Week 2019 Prompt: Symbols. Companion to A Scent Like No Other.


**Shadowlight Week 2019**

Prompt: **Symbols**

Sting and Rogue began traveling together immediately after meeting, walking with no clear destination in mind as they followed the roads from one town to the next. Sting would talk cheerfully about anything that popped into his head while Rogue would listen with a small smile on his face. Their cats had also hit it off and would hold their own conversations.

Rogue didn't mind the constant chatter most of the time, but after months of traveling alone, he couldn't deny that occasionally he missed the silence. Still, everything was so much better ever since he'd literally run into Sting. Rogue had a new friend that he felt connected to in a way that he didn't understand very well yet, but it soothed him to know that it was a forever kind of thing. His dragon Skiadrum had told him so, and Rogue had no reason to question it.

That was another thing, Sting was the first person Rogue had ever talked to that believed him when he said he'd been raised by a dragon. No one else had, they'd either made fun of him or complimented him on having such a wild imagination. It was nice to be able to talk about Skiadrum and hear about Weisslogia in return. Sting had white dragon slayer magic, the opposite to his shadow and they'd had a lot of fun afternoons testing their magic out on each other, inadvertently learning to fight together. Something which had come in handy the few times they'd been attacked.

Neither of them had yet met anyone else who could use magic, a fact they'd thought odd. They both remembered waking up in front of a large gate and had begun to wonder if they'd somehow ended up in another world, one that didn't have magic. They didn't worry about it much, they had their cats and each other, and that was more than they had before.

On this day Rogue had a headache, probably caused by hunger. It had been a few days since they'd had a full meal and Sting's constant chatter was starting to get on his nerves. He tried to disappear into his shadows for a bit, but it wasn't helping much.

"We need to find food soon, " Sting pointed out with concern, "You don't look so good."

Rogue kept walking, his eyes never straying from the road ahead, "I'm fine, let's just keep moving." His stomach chose that moment to betray him and rumbled. Sting decided not to comment, only raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Shut up!"

"I didn't say a word," Sting did his best to look innocent but had to laugh at Rogue's annoyed expression. "We'll just have to liberate some food."

"You know I don't like stealing," Rogue pointed out.

"Remind me how I met you again?" Sting grinned, and he moved out of the way of Rogue's punch, a bit too easily for his liking. He looked at Rogue worriedly, they really did need to find some food.

"Fine, we can try to see if there's any food behind a bar or restaurant," Rogue grumbled. It was their compromise, it wasn't technically stealing if it had already been thrown away. Sometimes if they timed it right the person throwing out the food would take pity on them and hand it to them instead. Sting hated digging through the trash probably almost as much as Rogue hated watching him fight for jewels.

They reached the next town by early afternoon, but by then Rogue was practically swaying on his feet. Sting found the local pub easily enough, and for once they were fortunate, a woman saw them and took pity on them, bringing them inside and sitting them at the counter. She returned quickly with two large bowls of soup.

"Here you go darlings, eat up, " The lady smiled at them kindly before flipping through the pages of some sort of magazine.

Sting and Rogue ate quickly, sharing their food with their cats. They looked at the magazine with interest, and when she went to the kitchen to get to work, she left it for them to look at. It had a lot of pictures of people on it.

"Sorcerer's Weekly," Rogue read out loud, he opened it and looked through the pages.

"You understand what that says?" Sting looked at Rogue with something akin to admiration.

"Sure, can't you?"

Sting shook his head.

"You don't know how to read?" Rogue looked at his friend with surprise.

"I guess not?" Sting ran his fingers through his hair in an embarrassed gesture, "Is that bad?"

"No, I'm just surprised Weisslogia didn't teach you, is all," Rogue was quick to comfort his friend. "Would you like to learn? I can teach you."

Sting shrugged not seeing the use, "What does it say?"

Rogue used his finger to trace the words, mouthing them as he read. Sting's curiosity was piqued when he noticed his friend becoming more excited.

"This magazine, it's all about wizards," Rogue pointed to some of the pictures, "That's what they call people who use magic! It sounds like they join places call guilds?"

His brow wrinkled as he continued to read and try to make sense of the information.

Sting began to look at the pages with more interest. Maybe they could join one of these guilds.

"Does it say anything about dragon slayers?" Sting asked with barely contained excitement, they had both been wondering if there were others.

Rogue grunted at him in reply but kept reading to himself. He read through the rest of the magazine before looking up to give him a proper answer, "I didn't see any mention of it, but they talk about all sorts of magic. Here listen to this…"

Rogue read out loud to Sting, and he listened intently, fascinated by all the different types of magic even as he looked at the pictures with interest. The barmaid came back out to check on them and smiled when she saw them poring over the magazine.

"Alright kiddos, I can't have you in here when customers arrive," She looked thoughtful for a moment and added, "I live upstairs. My son won't be home tonight, so if you want, for tonight only, you may stay in his room. You're welcome to keep the magazine, I'm done with it anyway."

Sting and Rogue talked together quietly and agreed to stay the night. It had been a while since either of them had been able to sleep comfortably. She showed them the room they were to sleep in and told them to take a bath before returning downstairs. They rested for the remainder of the day.

O-o

From that day on, Sorcerer's Weekly became their guide to magic and magic users in Fiore, which was the name of the kingdom they were in. Rogue began the long process of teaching Sting how to read with it as well. It was a challenge because the White Dragon Slayer was not a very willing student. His memory was much better than any actual desire he had to learn. He'd quickly memorize the words and would recite them to get out of practice, much to Rogue's displeasure.

As a result, Rogue had begun teaching him how to write as well, figuring Sting would have a harder time faking that. Every night before they went to bed they would use sticks to draw the symbols in the dirt, so far Sting had only really enjoyed learning how to write their names.

They had looked at all the guilds that were listed in the magazine. There were plenty of them, but the ones that stood out the most were: Blue Pegasus, Fairy Tail, Phantom Lord, Lamia Scale, Quattro Cerberus, and Titan Nose. Sting and Rogue still had no idea which one to try to join.

Several months had passed before they found another issue. They were scrounging in the trash for food again, much to Sting's displeasure but there had been no other choice. They hadn't even been able to find anyone to fight for days. Among the contents of the rubbish bin, there was a slightly ripped issue of Sorcerer's Weekly, which had somehow remained miraculously dry. It was a more recent one judging from the date.

Sting grabbed it excitedly, shaking off the trash that covered it but after looking at it for a few minutes, he could only frown and hand it over to Rogue, while he continued to search for food. Rogue hid his smirk hoping that this little experience would encourage Sting to try harder.

Once they had secured some food, they found a place to spend the night and sat outside eating. Rogue read the magazine eagerly, they'd already figured out that being featured in the magazine was a symbol of success in the wizarding world and sometimes on their long walks they would make up outlandish reasons why they would be featured in it. It was a fun game, and it helped pass the time. Sometimes the cats would join in, and their reasons always made the two of them laugh.

"Sting!" Rogue had been planning on making Sting work on the magazine some, but he couldn't contain his excitement at what he'd discovered.

Sing looked over at Rogue's excited tone to see him pointing to a wizard with pink hair. This wizard had not been in the previous issue.

"There're more of us!" Rogue waved Sting closer, "This guy's name is Natsu Dragneel, he's a Fire Dragon Slayer, and he's in Fairy Tail."

Sting had figured that part out from the red guild mark on the wizard's shoulder, both he and Rogue had already memorized the marks of all the guilds they were interested in.

"Oh, you're gonna love this," Rogue continued in an amused tone, "Apparently he weaves a path of destruction across Fiore. It says here he single-handedly destroyed the port of Hargeon while going after a slave ring, I wonder what that is? On second thought, maybe we should keep you away from him."

Sting stuck his tongue out at his mate and examined the picture with interest. "Does it say anything else?"

"Let me see… has a rival in his guild, uses dragon slayer magic... uhm not really?" Rogue answered, "Mostly that he's destructive and they make fun of his search for his dragon."

"Wait, his dragon is still alive?" Sting was almost bouncing with excitement. They hadn't seen a dragon since waking in front of that gate in Crocus.

Rogue shrugged his shoulders, "He seems to think so at least."

Sting remained quiet as he thought about this for a while. He thought this Natsu wizard sounded interesting. Maybe they should go find him, he was a dragon slayer like them, he might be able to help them.

"Oh wait, there's another one," Rogue informed Sting as he continued to read, "It looks like Phantom Lord has a dragon slayer too."

"What kind of destruction does he do?" Sting grinned excitedly.

"It doesn't say, he's mentioned in a picture. Look," Rogue pointed to a large man with long spiky dark hair and red eyes, "It just lists his name, Gajeel Redfox, and that he's an Iron Dragon Slayer. You think they know each other?"

"They must, right? I mean, we found our way to each other pretty quickly, didn't we?" Sting pointed out.

"I think our connection is different," Rogue reminded him, "It doesn't mean that all dragon slayers are soulmates."

"I guess," Sting replied without much interest. He supposed Rogue was right. The two men were in different guilds after all and Sting could no longer imagine being separated from Rogue for that long.

"I bet Gajeel is different from Natsu," Rogue said dreamily, imagining a dragon slayer more like him. Smart, patient, orderly.

Rogue thought out loud, "I think we should find them."

Sting could only smile, he loved it when Rogue said what he was already thinking. That was until Rogue added, "We should go to Phantom Lord."

"What?! No, we should go to Fairy Tail, " Sting disagreed, already thinking of how much fun it would be to challenge the older dragon slayer.

"Why? We already know stuff about Natsu, we don't know anything about Gajeel," Rogue's voice sounded strangely infatuated, and Sting didn't like it one bit.

"There's only one way to settle this," Sting got up and got into a fighting stance, "Whoever wins gets to pick where we go."

"Fro thinks it's too late to fight. You should play rock, paper, scissors instead," Frosh smiled sweetly at both dragon slayers.

"No," Sting groaned, "Rogue cheats."

"I do not!" Rogue replied, outraged by the accusation. It wasn't his fault Sting always picked rock, there were just so many times he could pretend to lose.

"Fine."

_Rock, Paper, Scissors...Shoot_

"Damn it!" Sting whined, arms crossed in front of his chest, "You always win!"

Rogue rolled his eyes at his partner, but inwardly he was excited about heading to Oak Town, where the magazine said the Phantom Lord headquarters were located. He couldn't wait to see what Gajeel was like. They drifted off to sleep in a tangle of limbs as they always did, their two cats snuggled into the warm nooks their bodies created.

O-o

When they set off on their journey, they hadn't realized just how far away Oak Town was from their current location, since they walked most of the time their progress was slow going. They'd been walking for almost a month before their luck improved. They'd been able to catch a ride with a farmer for a large chunk of the remaining distance. They would now only have to walk for a day or two to get where they were going.

Sting could tell Rogue was nervous, his patience was shorter than usual and he'd spent the last few days training, challenging his magic until he became too tired to continue. It was obvious that Rogue was determined to impress this Gajeel, and it irked Sting. He didn't like this odd fascination his mate had for the dragon slayer.

"I don't see what's so great about this guy," Sting complained to Lector, "You don't hear me talking about Natsu all the time."

Lector only laughed, not wanting to point out to Sting that he did indeed talk about Natsu quite a lot.

Even though he was disappointed to not be going to Fairy Tail, Sting couldn't wait to see the inside of the Phantom Lord headquarters, naturally curious as to what a guild was like.

He tried to ease Rogue's mind, working harder at learning to read to help distract Rogue from whatever was getting him all worked up and paying more attention to him in their quiet moments. It seemed to work a little. Sting found he liked caring about someone more than himself, and when Rogue responded to his shows of affection, it filled him with great satisfaction that kept him warm for hours at a time.

"So, uh have you thought about what you're going to say when we find Gajeel?" Sting asked Rogue as they walked towards Oak Town, they would be arriving at their destination sometime mid-morning. They had earned some jewels at the last town, running errands for a merchant and Sting was looking forward to treating Rogue to something with part of it.

"No, what were you planning on saying to Natsu? " Rogue asked curiously.

"Say? Talking's your thing, I'm gonna challenge him to a fight, " Sting declared, eyes gleaming as he punched the palm of his hand to show his intent. Rogue looked over at him with a weird expression he couldn't decipher, but he shrugged it off. Sting figured that if Natsu were even half the person he thought, the challenge would be appreciated.

Rogue still looked nervous so Sting did something he didn't often do, he grabbed Rogue's hand in his and squeezed it. Rogue smiled up at him, and Sting could feel his cheeks flush at the gesture. He looked away but left his hand right where it was, and they continued to walk in this manner. They arrived at their destination still walking hand in hand.

Sting couldn't help but notice that Rogue seemed more sure of himself and he felt happy to be able to do that much for him. They didn't talk about the mate thing often, but it was at times like this that Sting felt it strongly. It was a sense of rightness, a feeling that this person was someone he was meant to be with.

They stopped a man to ask for directions to the guild, and he peered at them strangely. He remarked, "What's left of it is over that way, keep walking straight for another ten minutes or so, you can't miss it."

The man's words set them on edge so they ran straight ahead only to be met with a large pile of metal debris that seemed like it once might have been a large structure. It had clearly seen better days, currently looking like a battle had been waged within its walls. Although walls was a very generous term at this point. Sting wanted to go explore the inside, but Rogue gripped his hand firmly to keep him from doing so.

Rogue gaped at what was left of the Phantom Lord Guild, "What happened here, and what of Gajeel?"

Sting could only shrug his shoulders, "Well, I mean clearly there was a fight."

"Yes, that much is obvious, but Phantom Lord is the strongest guild in Fiore, what could have done this?"

"Why don't we go ask someone, the people in town might know what happened?"

"I don't want to leave yet," Rogue protested, and Sting somewhat understood. Rogue had built this moment up in his mind, and it had not gone in any way he could have anticipated. He needed time to process.

"Okay, you stay here. I'll see what I can find out," Sting offered, and Rogue looked at him gratefully.

Sting ran looking for someone he could ask, but not many people seemed to be about. Instead, he found a small business that sold Sorcerer Weekly, he figured if something that big had happened, they would probably have reported on it. Just as Sting suspected there was an issue with a picture of the destroyed guild hall on the cover hiding among some newer issues. He used the jewels he'd been planning to spend on Rogue's gift to pay for it. It saddened him, but he reasoned Rogue needed this more.

Sting found a bench and struggled to read as much as he could. He felt someone sit next to him, and he didn't even have to look to know who it was, but he did anyway and was bewildered by the affectionate gaze Rogue was giving him.

"You were reading that for me?"

"Well yeah, you were upset," Rogue smiled broadly and gave Sting a quick hug.

"Thank you." Rogue settled more comfortably next to him, "What did you find out?"

"I— I don't think you're going to like it," Sting frowned, not sure how to tell his mate that his hero was not what he'd imagined.

Rogue's eyes narrowed slightly at Sting's statement, but he waited patiently for him to continue.

"It says that Gajeel attacked and injured some Fairy Tail wizards and then destroyed their guild hall causing a war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord." Sting looked down at the ground, "I'm sorry."

Rogue touched the magazine still laying on Sting's lap, "May I?"

"Sure," Sting handed the magazine over to Rogue and watched him read the article. He wasn't sure whether he should be concerned that Rogue seemed to be taking everything so well.

"I guess you were right, we should have gone to Fairy Tail," Rogue commented drily before his eyes moistened as he told Sting, "I'm proud of you, you read really well."

Sting basked in the unexpected praise, and when Rogue handed the magazine back to him he tucked it into his bag, understanding now was not the time to look at the rest of it. "What do we do now?"

"Well, we're in a new place, might as well check it out." Rogue got up and started walking. Sting knew Rogue wasn't as okay as he was trying to act, but chose to give him space to deal with things in his own way. Sting, along with the cats, followed after him and they spent the day distracting themselves from the disappointment of a wasted journey.

O-o

It had been over a week since they'd found the remains of the Phantom Lord Guild and they'd yet to decide on what to do next. Sting was hesitant to bring it up when Rogue so clearly didn't want to talk about what had happened, but he didn't like staying in one place for too long. It brought unnecessary attention from adults, it was safer to keep moving and try their luck in the next town.

They'd found a playground in a park in the middle of town a few days earlier, and even though neither Sting nor Rogue had any interest in the equipment, both Lector and Frosch adored it. Sting decided they should go there, Rogue tended to relax while watching the cats play and it might be a good time to introduce the topic of moving on.

They found a large tree to sit underneath where they could comfortably watch Lector and Frosch chase each other and climb over the equipment. Sting took a moment to enjoy Rogue's rare smile before taking out the Sorcerer's Weekly he'd bought and placing it between them.

Rogue looked down at the magazine and tensed up. Sting was worried, this type of conversation was more of Rogue's thing, but he knew it was needed.

"What's wrong?" Sting tried to sound calm, even though Rogue's unhappiness had been making him crazy.

Rogue sighed, "It's just different than what I expected."

"What _did_ you expect?"

"I don't know exactly, I just… I thought guilds were places for wizards to use their magic to help others, and earn jewels doing it. That doesn't sound like what happened here."

"It wasn't," Sting shrugged, "That doesn't mean all guilds have to be dicks."

"He's right you know," An unfamiliar voice entered their conversation, "I'm sorry to intrude, guilds and wizards are kind of a passion of mine."

Sting and Rogue turned to see a blond man sitting near them on a blanket. He had a large amount of food, and he eagerly offered them some. They looked at each other before accepting some sandwiches and sitting closer to the man.

"You like that magazine?" The man asked with curiosity as he peered over at the issue they had.

Sting and Rogue nodded, and that seemed to make the man happy. "Cool cool cool! Anyway, there are a lot of guilds in Fiore, and they're all different. Some are light, and some are dark, there are even some independent ones."

"Wait, what's a dark guild? Was Phantom Lord one?" Rogue instantly became interested in the conversation. They hadn't really been able to come into contact with anyone who knew much about this stuff. Until they met this man, Sorcerer Weekly had been their only source of information.

"Phantom? No," The man snickered as he tossed them some water bottles, "They were just greedy… and proud. Dark guilds are ones that do things that are forbidden by the Magic Council, like kill people for jewels."

Sting and Rogue gaped at the man in horror, some wizards would kill for jewels?

He tapped his head with his fingers, "Don't worry, there are less of those than Light Guilds. Let me see, where to start? Okay, well you _do_ know that only about ten percent of the world's population are magic users?"

Sting and Rogue shook their heads in response. "No? Well, that's how it is, and most of them are in guilds."

"Guilds come under the Magic Council, which is kind of like the wizards' police. There are all kinds of guilds, and they're all different, but the one thing they have in common is that wizards can join and use their skills to take missions and earn jewel, just like you said. " He smiled at Rogue, "Many rivalries exist of course, but guilds are forbidden from fighting each other, which is why Phantom Lord was disbanded."

"Do you know what happened to Gajeel?" Sting asked, wanting to give Rogue some peace.

"Black Steel? Yeah sure, he joined Fairy Tail as did Juvia Lockser, one of the Element Four." The man answered, chuckling when the two boys looked at him in astonishment. "Strange, huh? Even though they were bitter enemies, Fairy Tail accepted them into their guild. That's just how they are."

"Of all the guilds, Fairy Tail is my favorite, " He opened his jacket and showed them his pink Fairy Tail shirt, "If I were a wizard that would be the one I would want to join. They're so cool!"

"You're not a wizard?" Rogue was surprised, considering all the man knew, he'd expected him to be a member of some guild.

"Nope, I just write about the wizarding world, I'm Jason," Jason pointed to the cover of the magazine which had his name listed on it.

At his admission both Sting and Rogue began to talk excitedly, asking him so many questions the man had to laugh, "Hang on, let's finish eating first, I'll answer your questions after we're done."

Lector and Frosch came over then, and the boys shared some of their food. Once finished, the cats took a nap on their dragon slayers.

Jason spent another hour talking to them, at times getting even more excited than the boys. He told them about different things that had happened in the last few months — like several guilds working together to take down a dark guild called Oración Seis, and more recently Natsu and the rest of Fairy Tail destroying a gigantic mechanical dragon in Magnolia.

Sting and Rogue learned a lot more in that hour than what they'd been able to glean from months of reading the magazine and Rogue could see the longing in Sting's eyes to be part of the excitement.

Jason recommended they should check out Fairy Tail and Blue Pegasus as they had the kindest and fairest Masters. Fairy Tail, he pointed out, was especially good with younger kids. He explained that a lot of the current group of famous wizards had been orphans who had grown up there.

Jason finally bid them farewell, but as he was collecting his trash, he stopped for a moment. "I just realized, I never asked you what your magic is."

Sting grinned cockily, "I'm a White Dragon Slayer, and Rogue is a Shadow Dragon Slayer."

Jason's eyes almost popped out of his head, "Dragon slayers?! Cool, cool, cool! " Jason noted excitedly. With a grin, he added, "If you ever do meet Salamander, watch out for his right hook, it's pretty fierce." He rubbed his jaw remembering the last time they'd met.

He opened his bag and grabbed a copy of the newest issue of Sorcerer's Weekly, handing it to Rogue, "Whatever you decide, I look forward to writing you both in here someday." He gave them a final wave and walked away.

"So what do you want to do?" Sting was glad they had met the reporter. Rogue seemed to be in much better spirits.

"Let's check out Blue Pegasus first, and then we'll head to Fairy Tail," Rogue answered and when Sting began to protest he explained, "I think we'll end up at Fairy Tail, but I just want to make sure we consider all our options first."

Sting agreed, but he didn't look very enthused by the plan.

O-o

Sting had no desire to go to the Blue Pegasus Guild. Even if the Master was great, he'd seen the images of some of the wizards in Sorcerer Weekly and he'd not been very impressed. They looked like pretty boys, and Sting had no interest in that. He wanted to fight, to train, to help others and go on adventures. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to do that while dressed in a suit and catering to customers, but Rogue was determined to go check it out and at least it took them away from Oak Town.

Rogue was the one navigating this time, and Sting was happy to let him do it. He tried to keep his lousy mood to himself as they made their way to wherever the heck they were going, but Lector was baiting him, and he was reaching his limit.

They stopped to rest, and Sting took the magazine out of his small bag and immediately began to read. This had become a routine of sorts, Sting would try to make sense of the articles without Rogue's help, only pointing out the words he had trouble with. Rogue noticed with pride that Sting needed less help every day. Sting didn't do it for long periods, complaining that it made his head hurt, so Rogue wasn't surprised when he set the magazine aside after a few minutes.

"Do you remember much before the gate?" Sting gazed at him with a hopeful expression.

Rogue thought about it and shook his head, he had a few memories, but they were vague, and as time went on he forgot more and more. The last vivid memory he had was of killing his dragon, just like Sting.

"I've been thinking about that more and more," Sting massaged his temple with his fingers, trying to stop the headache he could feel forming, "Do you think the other dragon slayers remember the gate as well?"

Rogue could only shrug his shoulders, and he suddenly felt guilty for leading them away from the answers they'd been seeking for so long. He wasn't sure why he was so determined to do that. Rogue was well aware that Blue Pegasus was not a good fit for them, based on what Jason had said it was a very social guild. The wizards had to interact with their clients regularly which was something he not only wasn't very good at, but he already knew he wouldn't enjoy. Although Sting could probably manage just fine.

Maybe he was just afraid of being disappointed again, or perhaps he was worried that Sting would like Natsu better than him, although he recognized that was ridiculous. He just knew he wanted to extend the time that they had alone together for as long as he could.

"I don't know, I don't think it really matters, to be honest," Rogue replied, "Do you think we'll like being in a guild?"

Sting had no answer to that, he still had no idea what to expect, "It will be a change that's for sure, but it would be nice to be able to earn jewels and have regular meals, and be around other wizards," Sting added dreamily. "We can go on adventures and fight monsters."

Rogue found himself smiling at Sting's expression, "You _would_ think of fighting and adventures."

"Well sure! What do _you_ think it will be like?"

"Noisy," Rogue looked down at the ground, "Lonely."

"Lonely?" Sting balked at the thought, "How can you possibly be lonely? I'll be there with you. Always." He scooted over to where Rogue was and sat behind him, wrapping his arms around him in a hug. Sting placed his chin on the other's shoulder. "Is that what's been bothering you all along? You think that once we join a guild, you'll lose me?"

Rogue gave a small nod, and Sting growled in response. "That's never going to happen, Rogue, you're my mate, and if anyone tries to get between us, they'll have to answer to me."

Sting felt the tension in Rogue's shoulders decrease after hearing his words, and he found himself sniffing his mate in a way he never had before. It was an urge that was both new and strange, he didn't know what to make of it or how he felt about it, but he couldn't deny that Rogue's smell comforted him. When Rogue was by his side, everything was good with the world, and Sting realized that if Rogue felt the same way, his fear was understandable. He wouldn't know what he would do if Rogue were taken away from him.

"We can make other friends and still have each other," Sting reassured him before letting go and standing up. "We should get moving if we want to get to your precious Blue Pegasus," Sting winked before offering his hand to his mate.

"I've been thinking, we don't have to go there if you don't want to," Rogue offered, feeling a bit better after they'd talked, "We can just head to Fairy Tail."

"Nah, you're right. We should check out other guilds before we make our decision, plus I can't wait to see you in one of those suits," Sting doubled up laughing.

"You'd look pretty good, " Rogue mumbled under his breath, Sting still heard him and laughed harder.

"I still don't get how they expect us to fight wearing one of those monkey suits." Sting rolled his eyes, "Too much effort if you ask me."

"I get the feeling they don't fight much," Rogue pointed out.

"Ugh, you had to remind me," Sting grabbed Rogue's hand and smiled, "Lead the way."

Rogue turned away but not before Sting noticed a fascinating expression on the other's face. It seemed he wasn't the only one having strange feelings. He grinned contentedly.

It took them another week to walk to the Blue Pegasus Guild, and it was equal parts uncomfortable and pleasant. Something had definitely changed between them, although neither one seemed to be able to pinpoint what it was.

Sting could have sworn that when he had woken up that morning, Rogue had been sniffing him, it was odd, but he didn't mind. How could he when he'd done the same thing himself?

There was a different feeling of closeness between them than what had been there before. Where at night they'd always slept in a tangle of limbs, during the day they rarely touched each other. Now fingers were occasionally grazing as they walked, furtive gazes were met before both quickly looked away. It was new and exciting, but it also made them awkward around each other as they tried to figure out what it meant.

Sting was almost glad to see the large building with the Blue Pegasus guild symbol on the front in the distance, thankfully in one piece. His stomach was littered with butterflies seemingly involved in a hostile takeover, and he wasn't sure which was the cause, Rogue or taking their first real step into finally immersing themselves in the wizarding world.

They stood in front of the building staring at the doors until Rogue took the incentive of walking up the steps. When he noticed Sting was still standing at the bottom of the stairs, Rogue grabbed him and dragged him as gently as possible to the entrance doors. He squeezed Sting's hand once before letting go and opening the doors, urging him inside.

They entered and took in their surroundings, it was mid-afternoon, and the guild was surprisingly empty. A few people were sitting at the bar drinking, but the general mood of the place was gloom. Sting thought he heard soft crying. It was not at all what they'd expected, and they didn't know what to do. They looked at each other in consternation, should they return later?

They had turned around to leave when they heard someone address them.

"Can I help you, boys?" The voice was soft but kind, and when they saw the owner, they were able to recognize the Blue Pegasus Guild Master, Bob, standing behind the bar. He was bald and dressed in shorts and a cami with small wings on his shoulders.

"I'm Bob, the Master of this guild," Master Bob gestured towards two open stools at the bar. "Would you like some food? It looks like you haven't eaten a proper meal in a while."

Both boys nodded eagerly at the offer, and Sting made his way towards the bar, sitting on one of the stools the Master had suggested, while Rogue occupied the one next to his, their cats sharing another. Master Bob looked at Frosch and Lector and sniffled. "Let me get you some food, and then you can tell me why you're here."

The boys thanked him and took a better look around while they waited. There were several areas with comfortable chairs and sofas littered throughout the space as well as regular tables like you would see at a restaurant, but they were all empty.

Master Bob came out of what must have been the kitchen with four plates of food, and this action endeared the man to the two dragon slayers, no one else had ever treated their cats to their own food before. The guild master waited until they were done eating before speaking.

"So, what brings you here?"

"We were interested in learning more about your guild," Rogue informed him politely.

"Ah, so you're wizards. Were you interested in joining?" Bob's demeanor had become a bit more reserved, but his features were still friendly.

"That depends," Sting pointed at the somber expressions on the few people inside the building, "Is it always like this?"

"Sting!", Rogue hissed at his rudeness.

"No, it's alright. It's a fair question," Bob took a deep breath before explaining, "It isn't usually like this, no. We've just had some distressing news."

"Is everything alright?"

"No, you see, something terrible has happened," Bob lamented, "I suppose it can't hurt to tell you, it'll be general knowledge soon enough, it's already in Sorcerer."

The guild master grabbed the latest issue from underneath the counter and placed it in front of them. "Our friends at the Fairy Tail Guild were attacked by the black dragon Acnologia during their S-Class trials and they, along with the island they were on, have disappeared without a trace."

"Some of our members are leading the search party, but there's been no word," Bob's tears had started up again, and he tried to wipe them away. "A lot of the other guilds are helping as well, but we're all starting to lose hope. I'm sorry boys, you picked a bad time to visit."

Both Sting and Rogue goggled at the man in front of them in shock. Rogue watched Sting grab the magazine and go through it with something akin to desperation, but Rogue couldn't find the will to do so.

There were no words to express his feelings of loss, even though Rogue had never met these people he'd been getting ready to join them. He was also excited to hear that there were still dragons around, it was something both he and Sting had wondered about for a long time. But there was also the grief that came from knowing he'd never see his own dragon again.

Rogue couldn't really understand how the events Master Bob had told them about could have happened. He knew that Natsu and Gajeel were among the strongest in the Fairy Tail guild and also dragon slayers. They must have been on the island but if that were true, how was it possible that the dragon had bested them when both he and Sting had no trouble killing their own dragons at a much younger age? It made no sense.

Sting, ever his opposite, seemed to be in a rage. He'd slammed the magazine on the counter prompting Master Bob to look at him with concern. He'd been about to say something when Sting got off the stool and stormed outside.

"Is he okay?"

Rogue needed to go after his mate, but he also wanted to be respectful to this man who had been so kind to them already. He looked over at the page that Sting had been looking at, it had a picture of all the S-Class candidates climbing onto a boat in the port of Hargeon, Natsu and Gajeel easily recognizable among them. "Natsu and Gajeel were heroes of ours, we'd wanted to meet them," he said in the way of explanation.

"Go to him and take this if you want," Bob offered the magazine and Rogue grabbed it gratefully. He wanted to read more information on what had happened, but he really needed to get to Sting. "We'll be here if you want to come back and talk some more about joining."

Rogue nodded and gave a quick wave before rushing out of the building, already tracking Sting's scent. Both cats followed closely behind, their expressions nervous. He finally found him quite a ways away, doubled over and out of breath.

"Hey," Rogue went to touch Sting's shoulder, but he bucked away roughly. Frosch began to cry as he saw how upset Sting seemed to be and Lector remained blissfully quiet.

"How?!" Sting yelled angrily, "How could they not have defeated it?"

"I don't know Sting, we don't know anything about this dragon, maybe he was just too powerful."

"Some dragon slayers they turned out to be," Sting roared with scorn, "Why have we been wasting our time on those losers? We're already stronger than they ever were."

"Calm down," Rogue asserted, wincing at the pain he could hear in his mate's voice, "You don't know that, they gave us direction when we had none. There's nothing wrong with that."

"How can you be so damn calm about this, don't you get it?" Sting continued his tirade but this time some of the anger was directed at Rogue, "Everything we were working towards, it's gone!"

Rogue worked up his courage and surrounded Sting in an embrace, holding him with all his strength as the dragon slayer tried to fight him off.

"Let it out," He whispered in his mate's ear.

Sting slumped and began sobbing in the safety of Rogue's arms. Rogue remained quiet, knowing his words would only make things worse. He didn't really know what to say anyway, he needed to read the magazine, to understand everything that had happened. Rogue couldn't help but feel that there had to be more to the story than what they already knew. The Fairy Tail Master was a Wizard Saint and from what Rogue understood that made him even more powerful than dragon slayers, yet he had gone down with the rest of them. Nothing was adding up, and this bothered him.

"It's all a lie," Sting finally muttered as he pushed Rogue back gently.

"What is?"

"Everything we've read in that stupid magazine," Sting explained, as his breathing slowly returned to normal, "It's just a popularity contest, and we fell for it. I bet you Natsu didn't do half the things it said."

Rogue disagreed, but he remained silent on the topic, not wanting to rile Sting up any further. "Master Bob offered to talk to us again another time…"

"NO, I'm not joining his weak ass guild no matter how nice he is," Sting snapped. "I'm not going to be some pretty boy, I want to be strong. There is only one thing I've learned throughout this whole journey of ours, and that is that the only one I can truly depend on is you."

"What are you saying?" Rogue protested, "You don't want to join a guild anymore?"

"I'm saying I'm only interested in joining the strongest guild in Fiore, and until we find it, we'll train and fight anyone who gets in our way." Sting sounded eerily calm, and Rogue didn't know what to do or say to change his mind.

This new plan of Sting's made him nervous, he'd been looking forward to having a support system, a place to live, regular meals. Rogue was tired of living day to day, always struggling and scrounging for the little they had, but he could also see Sting was determined at the moment and he thought that if he just let him get it out of his system Sting would calm down and change his mind. Rogue could only hope he didn't come to regret it.

O-o

-_ Six Months Later -_

Rogue watched with boredom as Sting defeated yet another contender, barely even breaking a sweat. He looked around at the number of men and even women that were lined up for the chance to defeat the dragon slayer. It looked like today would be another good haul.

He'd tried fighting as well, but he really didn't care for it, and Sting had been doing so well they'd decided it wasn't needed. Occasionally they would put on a sparring match to get some attention, then Rogue would just be responsible for the jewels. Lector would help by doing what he did best, bragging about Sting's fighting ability, while Frosch would hide in Rogue's clothes not wanting to see Sting get hurt.

They'd realized early on that they couldn't make the fights look too easy if they wanted to make jewels, so occasionally Sting had to take some hits. It wasn't too bad, the regeneration that was a part of their magic allowed them to heal quickly, but it still made for some uncomfortable nights.

They'd spend a few days in a town, fight until they ran out of contenders and then move on to the next one. Sting had yet to be defeated, and they made a fair amount of jewels, allowing them to stay in cheap inns and be able to afford regular meals.

Rogue still didn't enjoy having Sting fight, but they were comfortable enough, which had reduced some of his reservations about not joining a guild. They'd been approached by several along the way, but Sting would refuse them all, repeating that he was only interested in joining the strongest one.

Although they were careful enough to not show it in public, their relationship had naturally progressed from the initial awkwardness into an understanding of sorts. They held hands and cuddled with occasional hesitant kisses, neither feeling the need to go any further. It was more of a promise of things to come when they were older, there was no hurry, both remained confident in their dragons words that they had been made for each other and so had all the time in the world to pursue this feeling they still didn't really understand.

Rogue brought his mind back to the present, and with a grimace, he saw a man he'd noticed in several towns. This man was much older than most of the people who frequented their fights, and he was huge with powerful bulging muscles. His hair was long and white though he kept it tied back in a braid, his mustache and beard were also long. A large, red beaded necklace decorated his neck. He never lined up to fight, only watched Sting with an expression that made Rogue nervous. If Rogue had to try to describe it, he would say the man looked at Sting with hunger. He'd mentioned it to Sting a couple of times, but of course, Sting saw nothing wrong with it.

"You worry too much, he probably just likes to watch me fight," Sting shrugged it off like he did most things, and Rogue tried to believe that was all it was, but something just felt off about this man, and it was setting off all sorts of alarms in his brain.

He bandaged Sting up swiftly having lots of practice, and they packed their bags, ready to leave this town behind in the morning and move on to the next one. The cats were already asleep on the bed and Sting took advantage of the silence to lean in and kiss Rogue, making him smile and distracting them from noticing the man who was watching through the window. They climbed into bed and kissed one last time before falling into a restful sleep in each other's arms.

The next morning they enjoyed a hearty breakfast before beginning the long trek to the next town. The sun was shining, and Sting was in high spirits, most of his scrapes from the previous day already healed. Lector and Frosch flew around them chattering happily amongst themselves while Rogue let himself relax and enjoy his companions.

He felt an unexpected sharp jolt in his back and thought he might have been stung by an insect, but that thought was clearly replaced by panic when he felt immense pain all over his body as it began to spasm outside of his control. Rogue realized much too late he'd been attacked by some sort of magic. The last thing he heard was Sting screaming out his name.

Sting tried to grab Rogue before he collapsed on the ground, still not sure what had happened but knowing Rogue was in trouble. Before he could even touch his mate, a tall, muscled boy with long green hair had already grabbed him and carried him away from Sting.

Sting roared in protest, immediately calling on his magic and readying his breath attack. He hadn't used his magic often during his fights, but he and Rogue sparred regularly, and neither was the type to pull their punches. They were both stronger than they had been when they first met.

"That's right, that's what I wanted to see, boy," Another man appeared before him, fitting the description Rogue had mentioned just yesterday and Sting was furious with himself for not listening. Rogue was usually not a worrier, he should have heeded his words. He could hear the cats freaking out, and it set him even more on edge to know they were scared.

"Let him go," Sting snarled, his magic ready to burst out of him at this point, as it realized his mate was in danger.

"Oh, I intend to," The man said, his voice tainted with malice and Sting could feel tremendous magical energy emanating from him. "All you have to do is fight me. If you beat me, I will return him to you safe and sound."

"And if I don't?"

"If you don't, then you, along with the weakling, will have to join my guild."

"Rogue is _not_ weak!¨ Sting bristled at the insult.

The man shrugged in disinterest, "Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, that isn't my concern at the moment. Show me how strong _you_ are boy, I won't go easy on you."

Without another word, the man rushed at him, and Sting had his hands full getting out of the way of the attack before unleashing his own. To his dismay, the man was able to dodge his breath attack and had pinned him to the ground in the next instant.

He was incredibly fast for his size, but Sting was able to wrestle his way back out. He'd never fought anyone he hadn't been able to beat easily, and his confidence shattered, his mind beginning to doubt every move he made, slowing him down as fear set in with every rough hit that slammed into him as the older wizard overpowered him. Before Sting had a chance to use his magic again, everything exploded around him.

His ears were ringing, his insides were throbbing, and even though everything was blurry, he could see Rogue's outline in the other boy's arms. He held back the tears that wanted to come as he realized how badly he'd manage to bungle everything up.

When his hearing finally returned to normal, he heard the man he'd been fighting talking to the boy holding Rogue. "Tie him up, if he's any good he can join the guild; otherwise we can use him to keep the other one under control."

Sting tried to get up, to keep fighting, but his movement caught the man's attention, and Sting felt tremendous pain as the man kicked him on his side hard enough to hurl him several feet in the air and possibly break something if the crack he heard was any indication.

"Admit defeat brat," He laughed heartily, "You've got spirit, I'll give you that!"

Sting felt himself being picked up and draped over the man's shoulder.

"Welcome to the Sabertooth Guild, you may call me Master Jiemma."

Master Jiemma and the other boy walked side by side, each carrying one of the dragon slayers and their bags. Sting could only whimper as he took in Rogue's unconscious form. He knew full well it had been his pride that had gotten them here. He had time for one last thought before he lost consciousness.

_I'm sorry, Rogue. I promise I'll find us a way out of this._

A/N: The next one in this series will follow their life in Sabertooth. It will publish on Thursday for the prompt Command and is called His Own Destiny.


End file.
